Share your tips and tricks.

[txdm]

Here's a tip for beginners that I picked up as a beginner.

Filing, Scraping, Sanding... always works better when the object is placed on a surface rather than just held up in your hand.

Obviously, right?

And the same goes for using a file card to clean a file. I used to hold the file out and brush, brush, brush, brush....on and on. Then one day I discovered that just putting the tip of the file down on a table while brushing it made one swipe clean it a great deal more efficiently than just holding it. I mean 10x better.

[DC]

i like the inner tube idea  looks way easier and more likely to happen then wrapping them in rags

+1 good one OO.

[Pat B]

One tip I have for beginners especially but for some more experienced bowyers...Patience! Without it you are in trouble. If you find yourself distracted, pissed off, or just not able to concentrate on the matter at hand, put down the tools and go find something else to do. I know it sounds simple but from someone that has been doing this wood bow building thing for a long time and from somebody that has been impatient in the past and disregarded my feelings at the time, it's just not worth loosing lots of good work to impatience.

[bjrogg]

Thanks for adding your tips guys. I'm not going to fill up a bunch of pages thanking everyone but I do thank You all. This is the kinda stuff I'm hoping keeps getting added to this thread.
Bjrogg

[burchett.donald]

   One of my favorite's  "Pitch Shellac"       I learned this from PatB years ago...Take hard crystallized pitch, not sticky pitch, and use enough denatured alcohol to dissolve...I use a small paint brush to apply to sinew wraps and feather bases...When the alcohol evaporates you are left with a hard waterproof coating...Your sinew will never get wet again, never...
                                                                                                                       Don

[bjrogg]

Willie if I understand you right I'm hoping that's what happens. Just a post that people can add their tips and tricks to. Something that you could just find in a sticky up top and always be able to look through or add to. I'm thinking thats up to the moderators and if this catches on or not.
Bjrogg

[Danzn Bar]

I rip through more sapwood than I care to keep track of.  I have never had to sharpen my draw knife.  I think keeping your tools protected significantly increases their useful lifespan.

I know this guy is no BS, good tip OO..............
DBar

[lebhuntfish]

Great post!

Im a stickler for sharp tools.  Especially a draw knife and a scraper. I personally prefer my draw knife to be sharp enough to shave with.  I actually teach draw knife and scraper sharpening at mojam every year.  And to anyone else that wants to learn.  Remember,  these are presion craftsmans tools,  not a 5 dollar hatchet.  Never use a grinder!

I guess my tip is,  always work with sharp tools.  If you don't know how to sharpen a draw knife or a scraper properly then take the time to look it up or ask me at one of the many events I attend. 
There is nothing like the look on someone face that is struggling making sawdust with a scraper. That is until you hand them one with a freshly rolled burr and now they are making long curls.

I would rather spend forever sharpening my tools to do 10 minutes worth of work than spend 10 min sharpening my tools and work forever. 

Patrick

[upstatenybowyer]

One tip I have for beginners especially but for some more experienced bowyers...Patience! Without it you are in trouble. If you find yourself distracted, pissed off, or just not able to concentrate on the matter at hand, put down the tools and go find something else to do. I know it sounds simple but from someone that has been doing this wood bow building thing for a long time and from somebody that has been impatient in the past and disregarded my feelings at the time, it's just not worth loosing lots of good work to impatience.

+1 

[Chippintuff]

This is an excellent thread. As it gets longer, a built-in index would be a great idea.

WA

[BowEd]

Patricks' quote........"I would rather spend forever sharpening my tools to do 10 minutes worth of work than spend 10 min sharpening my tools and work forever". 
I read once that Lincoln when getting ready to cut down a tree with an ax that took 3 hours used 2 of those hours sharpening his ax first.

[bjrogg]

I agree guys learn how to sharpen tools how to clean files and rasp and how to store them. They will last a long time. Ed that Lincoln quote was exactly what I was thinking when I read Patrick's post.
Bjrogg

[lebhuntfish]

Well I wasn't thinking that till now but that is something my grandpa always told me when he was alive. 
The meaning of working smarter not harder. 

Patrick

[upstatenybowyer]

"Ed that Lincoln quote was exactly what I was thinking when I read Patrick's post."
^ me too 

I thought of a tip that may be helpful to beginners...

ALWAYS CONSIDER THE ORDER IN WHICH YOU'RE GONNA DO THINGS.

For example, if you use dry heat to correct string alignment and then steam in recurves, you may loose those initial corrections.

Or, you may want to leave width in the handle and towards the tips so you can cut those sections to nail the alignment later on.

I'm sure there are plenty more examples of why the order of things is important, I'm just too tired to think of anymore.

[Chippintuff]

Following up on suggestions above. This might be a way to catalogue the suggestions. They could be arranged alphabetically as the list grows.

Tips - Helpful suggestions from this site


How to mark nocks using cardboard
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.30.html, pg. 3
Steaming: in a plastic bag and sources of steam
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   Pg1
Scrapers: old scissors for scrapers
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   Pg1How to cover tools to keep them sharp
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   Pg1

Shaping bow limbs: file, scrape, sand with bow on solid surface
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   Pg. 2
------How to hold a bow to scrape or rasp the tip of a limb
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   Pg. 1
------use hacksaw blade as straight edge when marking out center line of limbs. It is flexible and forms to fit the curves.
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.30.html, pg. 3
------using marks to lay out centerline
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.30.html, pg. 3
------How to contour limb thickness to keep edges equal and avoid hinging
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.30.html, pg. 3
Straightening side ways bends using dry heat and clamps
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.30.html, pg. 3
Tool care:
------Clean files and rasps with file card
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   pg2
------keep sharp by keeping covers on them
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   pg2
Be patient, work smart, not hard
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   pg2
Sinew
------seal with waterproof pitch shellac
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   pg2

Plan the order of your work, can prevent problems such as misalignments
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   pg2

Staves
------preparation, storage, finishing
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.30.html, pg. 3
------Removing bark, especially winter bark, use pressure washer
   http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.0.html
   Pg3
Super glue stuck hand, release with vegetable oil
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.45.html, pg. 4
Tiller test, are the limbs bending evenly
------http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,62279.45.html, pg. 4